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Are You a Spender or Saver?

Dio

~ It's me, Dio!~
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Jul 6, 2011
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I was thinking of Smaug and how he sits on all that gold and cant bear to part with any of it and how some people like to blow all the money they get, even spending more than they have and getting in to debt.

This led me to wondering about the habits of you the forum dweller. Do you consider yourself a spender or a saver?
 

Castle

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Oct 24, 2012
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Pan-decepticon-transdeliberate-selfidentifying-sodiumbased-extraexistential-temporal anomaly
Everyone should be keeping savings in reserve. But my principle is that money is meant to be spent and if you're not spending what you earn you aren't helping anyone. I think this has been a major problem with the boomer generation: saving for retirement. They learned conservative economic values from their parents, but in the time of the greatest generation it made sense to save everything, economically depressed and pre-commercial as that era was. But in the post commercial era (post 1950s) the economy only works when people are constantly making and spending money (provided they have the means to in the first place - thank you federal reserve and crooked bankers!!). Boomers learned how to make money but they didn't understand how to spend it, instead saving it for that long promised retirement they worked so hard for their whole lives... hope it pays off for em.

But I think millennials and subsequent generations have figured through simple observation that if you don't spend what you earn somebody's just gonna take it from you later anyway and retirement's not all it's cracked up to be. At least, this is the lesson I've learned.

Still, video games are my weakness. I've been known to blow my economic wad on video game spending sprees for games I will clearly never play (I think a bout of depression might have fueled my latest PSN store bender). Especially with the likes of gog and steam (I stay well clear of steam though) I know what it feels like when women can't resist buying 40 pairs of discount shoes :facepalm:

I'm pretty frugal and not by choice. Which is to say I don't make much but my expenses are minimal as well. Simple living. I like it.
 

YIGAhim

Sole Survivor
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Apr 10, 2017
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A little bit of both. I want to spend, and I indulge myself a bit when I am saving, but not much (I bought both Oracle Games in the midst of saving), but don't consider myself either
 

DekuNut

I play my drum for you
Joined
Jan 30, 2011
Location
Tangent Universe
I try to save, but my basic amenities keep me barely out of the red as it is. But I've never been huge about spending anyways - I'd rather buy one big thing than a bunch of little things.
I am gonna say though, Castle, love your breakdown if everything
 

Dio

~ It's me, Dio!~
Joined
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Location
England
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Absolute unit
I save money for spending later. :D

I don't feel good about spending money unless it was set aside for whatever I'm wanting to use it for.

Ah I see you are much like myself. I save more than I spend but I save with purpose rather than just for 'the future'. It pains me to spend money on trivial things particularly since I did not enjoy the process of obtaining it. If my precious time is going to be spent working then the money earned should go towards having an experience or purchasing something that is going to make my life better.

Boomers learned how to make money but they didn't understand how to spend it, instead saving it for that long promised retirement they worked so hard for their whole lives... hope it pays off for em.

I know a lot of retired people who spent their entire lives working and saving. Now I find a lot of them say they should have done the things they wanted to do when they were young fit and able. It is good to plan for the future but I don't think it is good to single mindedly focus on preparing for it and forgetting to enjoy the present. There is no guaranteed tomorrow after all.
 

Ninja

Well well well
Joined
Jul 5, 2017
I do a mix of both, however I tend to do more saving than spending, and it depends on my financial situation.

My plan basically followed Dave Ramsey's principals. I didn't have much debt, but what I had was an inconvenience for me, because the borrower is slave to the lender.

I have paid off all of my debt, which was about $500 on a credit card from a vacation. Other than that, I have zero debt but the mortgage. It's a freeing experience not being locked down by having to pay the bank instead of yourself.

Currently, with no debt I was able to fully fund our emergency fund, which is about 6 months worth of expenses, but I have added to it, we have about $15,000 saved in a separate account just for a rainy day.

In addition to this I have put money aside for myself, and after all of my expenses, my net take home per month is about $2,400. Thanks to heavy sacrifices, being debt free and smart with my money, has allowed me to spend, and give more without having a second thought about it. In 8 months, my plan is to have a check ready so I can surprise my wife and pay off her car.

So to answer, it really depends on my financial situation. Ask me five years ago and it would have been YOLO let's spend it, but now, I'd only spend if I can pay for it outright and not incur debt.
 

Misty

Ronin
Joined
Feb 14, 2016
Location
The Sea
Both.

I save most of my money, but because my thrifty skill is over 9000 I'm constantly spending money too. Just not much money.
 

Mellow Ezlo

Spoony Bard
Joined
Dec 2, 2012
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eh?
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Slothkin
Both.

I had a job throughout the summer break while I wasn't going to school. During the summer, I hardly spent any money, unless it was on big things like trips out of town or things I need like shoes. Very rarely did I go out to eat or go to Tim Horton's drive thru. I managed to save up a very fair sum for returning to school.

Now, however, since I am back at school and am not currently working or making money, I tend to spend more money than I should. I go to Timmy's almost daily, eat out often, and buy stuff I probably don't really need. I'm not even sure why, it seems like when I have income, I feel inclined to spend as little as possible so I can save as much as possible; conversely, when I have no income, I feel inclined to spend all the money I saved up before.
 

Jimmu

Administrator
Staff member
Administrator
I'm a saver for sure, I hate spending money on things I don't need and sometimes also on things I do need (like a new mattress which I should get since I can feel the springs but I save instead...).

I'm probably in about $25000 debt for my University fees but in Australia we don't even have to pay anything back until we are earning over $50000 a year and even then it is taken out of your pay like tax in small amounts before you even get it so that doesn't worry me. I have about enough to pay it off outright but there isn't much point in doing that since interest is extremely low and I need lots of my savings for rent next year when living abroad. I've never had a credit card and probably never will since I think they're evil ways to drag people into debt. I'll spend money I already earned instead thanks...

My earnings change every week since I'm casual and work generally between 15-30 hours but I need to pay $100 rent to my parents each week. Then I try and spend as little as possible through the week and save at least $200 but will add more if I can. I don't really set out a budget but I seem to be doing alright regardless.
 
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Ninja

Well well well
Joined
Jul 5, 2017
I'm a saver for sure, I hate spending money on things I don't need and sometimes also on things I do need (like a new mattress which I should get since I can feel the springs but I save instead...).

I'm probably in about $25000 debt for my University fees but in Australia we don't even have to pay anything back until we are earning over $50000 a year and even then it is taken out of your pay like tax in small amounts before you even get it so that doesn't worry me. I have about enough to pay it off outright but there isn't much point in doing that since interest is extremely low and I need lots of my savings for rent next year when living abroad. I've never had a credit card and probably never will since I think they're evil ways to drag people into debt. I'll spend money I already earned instead thanks...

My earnings change every week since I'm casual and work generally between 15-30 hours but I need to pay $100 rent to my parents each week. Then I try and spend as little as possible through the week and save at least $200 but will add more if I can. I don't really set out a budget but I seem to be doing alright regardless.

How much will your student loans be if you pay them over the course of time? You may want to consider the interests costs, despite them being extremely low, if you have the money and can comfortably pay it off, I'd bite the bullet and do so. However, I do see your point in saving money for rent. I had a similar discussion with my wife who has $16,000 left on her car, paying 4% interest over the next few years. If she doesn't pay it off early, she'll be looking at paying an extra ~$6,000, whereas if we pay it off early, she won't have to pay nearly as much.

What are you planning to do after University? Whats the income outlook in the next few years?
 

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